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Manning, 29, was released from prison in May after serving 7 years of a 35-year sentence

Chelsea Manning posted this photo of herself, which accompanies a new Vogue magazine article about her. (Chelsea Manning/Twitter)

Being comfortable in a bathing suit is a liberating feeling for most women, but especially so for Chelsea Manning.

"Guess this is what freedom looks like," she wrote online Thursday with a photo of herself in a red one-piece that accompanies a new Vogue magazine article about her. The photo was taken by Annie Leibovitz.

Manning has been lauded as a whistleblower and condemned as a traitor for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified government documents to WikiLeaks in 2010 while still known as Pte. 1st Class Bradley Manning, a U.S. military intelligence analyst.

Manning came out publicly as transgender in 2013, shortly after being convicted on 20 charges including violations of the Espionage Act, theft and computer fraud.

At the time she said she wanted to expose what she considered to be the U.S. military's disregard for how the Iraq War was affecting civilians.

In the Vogue article, in the magazine's September issue, Manning reflects on her past and opens up about what's ahead for her — and also talks about her love of fashion.